ABV: 49 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sticky sweet fruits and peat. At first there’s a sweet and ashy peatiness which has a layer of floral and fruity clouds surrounding it. There are notes of vanilla, liquorice and quite sticky, sweet and ripe berries. There’s also a different side to it with pipe tobacco and walnuts peeking through. When it settles the peat is pushed back by the heavy cask influence and it feels a bit subdued. There are some coastal notes deep within but the main focus lies on the fruitiness. This is a fantastic nose by all means but it strays a bit from its rowdy legacy.

Mouth: It starts out with a slight bitterness in the back and the main sweetness, liquorice and vanilla out on the sides and in the back of the palate. The middle is reserved for a mineral rich medicinal note. It’s not nearly as sweet as on the nose and the fruitiness is noticable but subdued at this point. It is quite spicy which helps it along. After a few seconds a tobacco note arrives in the back together with the bitterness and a feint but slowly increasing mix of lemon and dried dark berries.

Finish: The finish begins with a spike of spicyness and minerality. The mix of lemons, liquorice and ripe berries is now creating a backdrop to the medicinal peat which arrives as soon as the spike dies down. It gets less sweet the further down the line it goes and the main focus is on the medicinal and mineral rich peat, which feels a bit uncharacteristic. The oak arrives late, but when it shows up it’s an excellent addition with a nice coffee and walnut bitterness. It’s a grey weathered oak which fits nicely with the rest of the journey. This is a great whisky which strays a bit from its heritage (it tastes more like a Laphroaig than an Ardbeg).

Additional information
This whisky was made to celebrate the space experiment between NASA and Ardbeg. It was distilled in 1999 and bottled in 2012. It’s aged in ex-bourbon barrels and sicilian ex-Marsala casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.